Thread Preferences

[Angeline]

I guess everyone has different reasons for posting however they post. I like to write alongside people and will ask a few trusted friends for feedback (of course I appreciate feedback how and when I can get it, but recognize that backslapping isn't going to help me much as a writer). I suppose if I'm worried about the challenge threads I love disappearing that I should bump them up now and then.

Thank you all for jumping in on this and being part of the discussion.

Yes, I totally get what you're saying. The reason I've always loved it here is because I can go in a thread where a bunch of people are writing and get inspired. Tathagata's poems always get me thinking and wanting to write (which is why I so miss him here--and he knows it lol). But I also can see why a thread like WSO's is a good repository for stuff she is working on. But yknow I'm a Gemini. Everything makes sense to me.

 

[Palba_Noruda]

I wonder if anyone other than me has a distinct preference for people posting their poems in one of the existing threads for more than just one poem? I realize why someone may want to post a single poem, hoping for feedback, as an entire thread--but don't we have a mechanism for getting feedback on poems by submitting them or by putting them in one of the workshop threads? The thing is that if every person who wrote a poem or wanted discussion about one of their poems posted it as an individual thread . . . it would be really hard to find the challenge threads.

Am I alone? Am I being cranky because it's "that time of the month"? Tell me what you guys think.

By the way this is in NO WAY a mean response to those folks posting their poems. I understand completely why you'd want to do that. I'm just thinking it might be good to discuss it though in case there are some people who had never thought of posting their poems to one of the existing threads (like the not sure how many words thread or suddenly passion suddenly thread or writing live thread or the edit a day thread or the gangbang critique thread, etc). What do you all think? Is it better to post a whole thread for a single poem? Is there a circumstance when it is better to do that? Is there any difference?

I come by here and read and don't post much but my friend posts here. This is a nice poetry forum.

I created a single poem thread a while back. As I mentioned in the thread, the reason I created it was because it was an important poem for me and I really needed to get it out there somewhere. I can't get to any public readings just now, and even if I could, there is no way I could read said poem at a public reading. I tried to post a poem from the same series to the main Lit site. The poem was rejected for sound reasons. I made the recommended changes and resubmitted the poem and it was never posted. I sent a message following the send-a-message link and the poem was never posted. I don't wish to complain. I very much like Lit and I very much like the forum. I think the moderators and people who run the thing should be given a big thank you. *Thank you!*

That being said, I feel a little sour about posting out on the main Lit site just now. I had been sitting on that other poem for over six months I guess. It was short, but it meant something to me and I had a very strong desire to share the feelings involved.

I feel like there is much more intimacy on the forum (e-intimacy?)

One nice thing about the forum system is that poems that don't elicit much response will drop down the board fast. It is a compelling system for putting up a compelling poem. It is very risky in a way. It's possible there will be no response. It's possible your title will suck and you will have no views at all! The risk makes it that much more delectable from an artistic standpoint, IMO.

As I mentioned before, I had a strong desire to share the poem. None of the existing threads felt quite right. It's certainly not a *great* poem, but it happened to be very important to me for my own reasons. In fact, having posted the poem, having seen that some people looked at it, and having had a wonderful little discussion about it seems like a turning point in my life. Or at least it has been a very strong, affirming experience. I don't think I would have had that in the main Lit site or in one of the existing threads.

I had read a discussion about this topic a while before I made my thread; there was a little disagreement on that thread, but the prevailing voice seemed to think it was an okay idea to put a poem out there. So I went with it. I can't recall what thread that was.

I understand your point about too many single poem threads gumming up the works. But really it is an awfully tempting venue, especially for newbies.

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=673431

 

[UnderYourSpell]

Surely one sticky thread that says 'if you're a newbie and want to post a poem for critique do it here' isn't going to clog up the board

 

[GuiltyPleasure]

I regularly pass over the single poem threads but read the challenges and multi-poem threads faithfully.

 

[BooMerengue]

*whistling

 

[BooMerengue]

Amen!!!

 

[EroticOrogeny]

Surely one sticky thread that says 'if you're a newbie and want to post a poem for critique do it here' isn't going to clog up the board

This sounds like a good idea to me.

 

[butters]

This sounds like a good idea to me.

and what if you're not a newbie? just playing devil's advocate here. Is there really no established thread/s specifically for the posting of poems desiring critque? Or they exist but keep slipping off the page? Are there no people here dedicated to critiquing, like mods? Every forum does things its own way, I guess. But clarity is definitely required for me and other newcomers for sure.

When I first came here I joined in with the general threads a little, but really didn't feel there was anywhere that was the right place to comment on a work in its immediate vicinity; sometimes this is important, since others joining the consideration can easily scroll up and down referencing the poem's text to see how various comments apply - and whether or not they agree with those comments. That's why I tend to like the individual posts asking for thoughts. They're easily seen, easily accessed, and comments on one piece won't get 'interrupted' by comments about another getting posted in the same thread. I believe I posted a poem asking for help, but I'm pretty sure it got no responses. I'm a pretty active member of any forum I frequent, and comment as and where I can - so to see a post completely blanked is likely why the General Board got its wee claws into me easily, even though I don't get offended by anything like that. But it's my desire to grow and improve too. Just because we get work published doesn't mean we can afford to sit back content we know all there is to know, when it's painfully clear I, for one, do not.

So far as I've seen since joining, this poetry forum has more than the general level of intelligent writers, some sophisticated writers, and there's a damned good vibe going on in the writing live and other threads where poetry bounces off one another. What I don't see is much in the way of useful critique. Now, before I get jumped on as a nOOb making these kind of upstart comments , that's great if the focus of the forum IS about sharing among the well-developed writer who doesn't feel much need of feedback and who gets enough creative stimulation from bouncing ideas back and forth. It's something I enjoy too. But if this is also meant to be a forum dedicated to helping poets of all abilities develop their skills and innate talents then it's falling short of that goal. IMO just to be diplomatic.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

If I have felt I had anything mildly useful to offer in critique then I have posted it otherwise I don't, I don't recall your poem but if I read it I most likely considered I had nothing I could offer on that day. If a poet is going to keep offering new poems for critique surely they can add them in the first thread they started, instead of keep opening a new one. Actually I am not too good at critique that's why I have never offered to do Poetry Recommendations as I consider they need a bit more than 'I liked this' ..... I can put that on their poems comments.

 

[champagne1982]

My two cents on the critique/review thread include one about quantity. If a single poet posts even one poem a day in a singular thread with an intent to receive comment and feedback, then that poet is going to be disappointed with the numbers of views and comments. Perhaps the real thing to do is to open an exchange with the other board members by offering to review/critique/comment on any poem they care to share. Of course, once you've committed to this plan the key is to carry it out. Then, with your hopeful smile on, it comes time to ask all those you've gifted with time and constructive comment to return the favour. Reciprocation takes one person risking expended effort before the gains are acheived from it so take a risk.

The other one of my two pennies is paying for quality. If you pepper the forum with poetic birdshot then chances are you'll only garner brief comments focussed on first impressions. In depth critique and feedback takes a great deal of time and work, on just one poem. To give one poet such concentrated effort, as I've mentioned, before the reviewer has an opportunity to learn how well the poet accepts critique, is equal to digging a hole before you know how deep the grave needs to be. Patience on behalf of those asking for review is a primary key on a forum such as this where the relatively active membership is of small number and the poets hungering for comment are many.

Don't forget, you get what you give many times but you're always guaranteed to get what you pay for. If you pay nothing in way of reciprocal review and participation, odds are very good that you'll have an empty bowl when you log off. Poet on!

 

[butters]

if each poet posted one a day then it would kind of defeat the object, wouldn't it? and hello, champers one a day is more about showcasing than workshopping. These things take time. And from the various responses here, maybe that's why things are being run the way they are right now - you can't please ALL the people ALL of the time.

Perhaps the single 'workshopping' thread, a sticky, might help those looking for such a facility. But then it might get used as a display case too - oh my word, what a tangle! lol

 

[Gen_Heinz_O_S_T]

A certain friend of mine posted a poem on Lit General Board. But he forgot to put the poet's name. Along came this newbie who claimed to be a poet and one who is an expert and she said that my friend's poem wasn't that good, lacking substance. What she didn't know is that that poem is from a very famous poet, well acclaimed by the art community. I see that same critic is busy here dispensing with her "expert" opinion.

 

[UnderYourSpell]

A certain friend of mine posted a poem on Lit General Board. But he forgot to put the poet's name. Along came this newbie who claimed to be a poet and one who is an expert and she said that my friend's poem wasn't that good, lacking substance. What she didn't know is that that poem is from a very famous poet, well acclaimed by the art community. I see that same critic is busy here dispensing with her "expert" opinion.

I haven't seen a single person on here claim to be 'expert' we all learn from each other and I have seen poems by famous authors that are certainly not to my taste so I'm not going to gush over them just because they are famous. Usually though if I don't like someones offering I just pass on by being far too polite to say this is crap!

 

[Epmd607]

A certain friend of mine posted a poem on Lit General Board. But he forgot to put the poet's name. Along came this newbie who claimed to be a poet and one who is an expert and she said that my friend's poem wasn't that good, lacking substance. What she didn't know is that that poem is from a very famous poet, well acclaimed by the art community. I see that same critic is busy here dispensing with her "expert" opinion.

She's probably better in bed than you too.

 

[Epmd607]

if each poet posted one a day then it would kind of defeat the object, wouldn't it? and hello, champers one a day is more about showcasing than workshopping. These things take time. And from the various responses here, maybe that's why things are being run the way they are right now - you can't please ALL the people ALL of the time.

Perhaps the single 'workshopping' thread, a sticky, might help those looking for such a facility. But then it might get used as a display case too - oh my word, what a tangle! lol

If there was a sticky and people actually posted in it instead of posting a new thread for each poem I'd probably read more people's poems. Not that someone who's new will post their poem in it. They'll keep posting one thread per poem because they want to be a showcased marvel, or they just won't comprehend the point of the sticky the few times they visit.

 

[lorencino]

I haven't seen a single person on here claim to be 'expert' we all learn from each other and I have seen poems by famous authors that are certainly not to my taste so I'm not going to gush over them just because they are famous. Usually though if I don't like someones offering I just pass on by being far too polite to say this is crap!

Generally, I can never understand why anyone would waste their time slamming a poem they don't think is good. I think it is often demeaning to be obsessing about someone's inability to press the right buttons for you. On the other hand, there is everything to be gained by exploring why you like what you like and spending time digging below the surface of what appeals to you.

By the same token, I can write poetry about the women I adore but would never write a poem about someone who left me cold just to convey that she leaves me cold.

 

[miss_trust]

Generally, I can never understand why anyone would waste their time slamming a poem they don't think is good. I think it is often demeaning to be obsessing about someone's inability to press the right buttons for you. On the other hand, there is everything to be gained by exploring why you like what you like and spending time digging below the surface of what appeals to you.

By the same token, I can write poetry about the women I adore but would never write a poem about someone who left me cold just to convey that she leaves me cold.

While i agree that bashing someone's poem because you don't like it isn't such a great idea, i Definitely think constructive criticism is fantastic. If you don't like something but you see a spark, a line, an idea, something of merit that you know the person wants to focus on but doesn't know how or you know the poem needs to focus on it but hasn't gotten there yet, well I'd say those are times when sticking around to say something about a poem you don't care for in its present iteration would be quite a good idea.

I've written on things that don't ignite a spark for me, just to see if I could make it work poetically. Tends to be those poems that I've gotten the most positive feedback on - lol

Anyway - to the original question of people's preferences on threading:
- I have read a couple of the single-poem-threads but tend toward skipping them 80% of the time and go to Suddenly, 007, Live, Blurt, etc.
- I do like the idea of someone starting their own thread for use in perpetuity

regardless what i prefer, newbs/noobs & non-regulars do what they do because they get excited, confused, intimidated or are ignorant of the rules and it'll probably continue to be something that happens...

 

[butters]

While i agree that bashing someone's poem because you don't like it isn't such a great idea, i Definitely think constructive criticism is fantastic. If you don't like something but you see a spark, a line, an idea, something of merit that you know the person wants to focus on but doesn't know how or you know the poem needs to focus on it but hasn't gotten there yet, well I'd say those are times when sticking around to say something about a poem you don't care for in its present iteration would be quite a good idea.

I've written on things that don't ignite a spark for me, just to see if I could make it work poetically. Tends to be those poems that I've gotten the most positive feedback on - lol

Anyway - to the original question of people's preferences on threading:
- I have read a couple of the single-poem-threads but tend toward skipping them 80% of the time and go to Suddenly, 007, Live, Blurt, etc.
- I do like the idea of someone starting their own thread for use in perpetuity

regardless what i prefer, newbs/noobs & non-regulars do what they do because they get excited, confused, intimidated or are ignorant of the rules and it'll probably continue to be something that happens...

but do you see any constructive criticism or even discussion about various poems on these threads?

 

[miss_trust]

but do you see any constructive criticism or even discussion about various poems on these threads?

under suddenly or live i believe someone rewrote one of mine & took a dive into someone else's. i've seen comments in the 007 & 30/30 (i think that's the one - i tend to get vague on the threads for steady posts because i just don't have the balls - literally & figuratively - to join in).

 

[butters]

under suddenly or live i believe someone rewrote one of mine & took a dive into someone else's. i've seen comments in the 007 & 30/30 (i think that's the one - i tend to get vague on the threads for steady posts because i just don't have the balls - literally & figuratively - to join in).

I'll have to go check it out. But this was the problem I saw as a nOOb - the forum says Poetry Feedback and Discussion, but I saw precious little of that over an above the occasional slap on the back and high-fiving; instead, and valuable in its own right, was a host of cool poets bouncing of one another and creating sometimes superlative pieces. Maybe the crit threads have slipped off the front page as has already been mooted.

 

[butters]

Pandora Glitters - could you direct me to the threads intended for workshopping please? I seem to have completely missed them!

As for submitting, do you receive feedback that way? If so, who is responsible for giving this feedback - any information gratefully accepted

 

[PandoraGlitters]

I'll try to make a list and bump them. You are right, they have slipped too far down and there should be some common mechanism to ask for feeback. Here's the first one but I'll find some others. Maybe there should be a sticky thread for poems for feedback. There used to be a whole subforum dedicated to it, but it wasn't getting much use.

Critique Threads

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=620521
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=557630&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=254058&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=317613&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=518761&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=464579&highlight=feedback

 

[butters]

I'll try to make a list and bump them. You are right, they have slipped too far down and there should be some common mechanism to ask for feeback. Here's the first one but I'll find some others. Maybe there should be a sticky thread for poems for feedback. There used to be a whole subforum dedicated to it, but it wasn't getting much use.

Critique Threads

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=620521
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=557630&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=254058&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=317613&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=518761&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=464579&highlight=feedback

Now we're talking THANKYOU

 

[EroticOrogeny]

I'll try to make a list and bump them. You are right, they have slipped too far down and there should be some common mechanism to ask for feeback. Here's the first one but I'll find some others. Maybe there should be a sticky thread for poems for feedback. There used to be a whole subforum dedicated to it, but it wasn't getting much use.

Critique Threads

http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=620521
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=557630&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=254058&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=317613&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=518761&highlight=feedback
http://forum.literotica.com/showthread.php?t=464579&highlight=feedback

That sounds good. Another idea that might help would be to link to post #1 when bumping so a newcomer could see what the thread was for without jumping there (if they know how).